


Space is No Place For the weak

by degenerate_otaku



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst, Canon Compliant, Child Abuse, Comedy, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Drama, Eventual Romance, F/M, Growing Up, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-02
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-13 21:02:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 18,523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29160111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/degenerate_otaku/pseuds/degenerate_otaku
Summary: Young Raditz, an intelligent, yet naive low class Saiyan soldier, has been thrust into the harsh unforgiving conditions of the Frieza Force, following the mysterious destruction of his home planet. Will he be able to survive in a universe that has seemingly turned his back on him? Or will he perish and fade into nothingness just like the rest of his once mighty race?
Relationships: Raditz (Dragon Ball)/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 2





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! This is another fic I wrote on Fanfiction.net. This is actually the first fic I uploaded on there, in around...late 2019? I haven't been writing it in a while, but if there's demand I'll continue!  
> Please note that my writing ability has improved since the start of this ♡

A boy sat, waiting in an office. He counted the number of space pods flying outside the window from the large vessel he was currently riding in. The boy had nothing better to do, but observe his unfamiliar surroundings. The woman at the desk was typing rapidly at her computer, perhaps she had worked here for a long time..or maybe her job was so dull that she just seemed weathered by time. The chair he sat in was uncomfortable, causing him to shift around incessantly, attempting to relax. Time passed slowly, the boy was restless. He felt as if he would be stuck in this office, waiting forever.

The woman at the desk interrupted his thoughts.

"Excuse me? I have some...rather, um… sad news to deliver." The boy sat up straight and looked at her, gulping.

"...I regret to inform you that your home planet of Vegeta was destroyed. An asteroid collided with the planet."

The boy nodded and thanked the woman for providing him for this information. He said nothing after that, but his mind kept racing, and questions kept coming into his head.

 _'What will I do? Where will I live? Is there anyone else left?'_ His head began to throb painfully from thinking so much. Suddenly he remembered something.

_His family._

They were dead. Gone **forever**. And his home, the place he loved… _destroyed_. Only his brother was alive. He recalled his mother telling him that Kakarot would be on planet… what was it called? Ee-arth? Something to that effect. The child still kept the messages from his parents on his scouter, the ones they recorded before he'd left.

He played them over, and found himself biting his lip to prevent himself from crying. His father said he was much too old to be crying like a baby. He was 7 and a half now. The last time he cried he was 5, and his father hit him for his behaviour. The boy looked at the red bands on his limbs that reminded of his father. He never liked him too much, but always tried to earn his respect. Whenever he would return home from missions, the boy would show off how much he increased his power level and still, his father would still say that it wasn't good enough.

"Space is no place for the weak." He'd tell the boy constantly. But the child would show him! He'd become even stronger than his father and prove that he was worthy of being called his son. Then he remembered. His father was dead. And so was his mother.

The boy loves...well _loved_ his mother dearly but never showed it. A feeling washed over him all of the sudden. What was it..? _Regret?_ He didn't care. His mother was a fantastic chef, but a terrible fighter, who loved her husband and son greatly, which was unnatural for a saiyan. However, she did have attitude, and every saiyan female has that characteristic. His mother was often bossy, and made the boy study when he wanted to play games or train. He didn't like that about her. He didn't like her nasty frying pan either, which she would use to hit him with when he was being rude, or not listening to her. His mother had also supplied the boy with sweets that she had made. She was very good at making them.

He took out the bag with the sweets and untied the thread around it. The smell from them was cloyingly sweet. He decided that he wasn't going to eat them, because he would never have them again after they were finished, and the sickly sweet scent coming from them was enough to make him throw up. His stomach had been feeling uneasy from the minute he had learned of his planet's destruction. He tied the bag up again.

Hours passed by, the slow click of the clock never-ending. The boy thought maybe he could fall asleep, but it felt impossible. He was beginning to feel rather hungry too. He noticed that the lady at the desk had some biscuits. He looked at them and his stomach growled. The lady took notice. "Come here, boy."

Warily, he went up to the desk.

"Here you go, get something in you." He was given 2 biscuits. _'Is that It?!'_ He thought to himself. He didn't want to ask for more though, he didn't want to seem rude or greedy.

"There's also a water dispenser."

Drinking water made him feel better. So did the biscuits. "So, what's your name, lad?"

"My name is Raditz."

"Well, Raditz, you could very well be the last Saiyan alive.." She mused.

 _Clearly_. "I guess.." He only sighed, for a lack of better words.

"I'm terribly sorry for your loss, child." She said, the pity in her voice evident.

"Don't be. We Saiyans aren't sentimental." He responded, coldly.

"You aren't sad? I would have thought for someone your age, you would feel upset."

"..No. My family and friends would prefer it if I was strong and didn't show emotions like sadness."

"Emotions aren't always weakness, you know?" Raditz pondered how this woman came to work for Lord Frieza. She seemed quite… nice.

He talked to the lady for a while, who had revealed her name to be Altra.

"Oh, Raditz, I think they're serving food down the hall. Go up the stairs and take the first right." Raditz only needed to hear the word 'food' and he perked up. He went in search of his…Breakfast? Dinner? He hadn't eaten a proper meal in a while and lost track of the time.

Soon, he was there and he noticed that others were commenting on Planet Vegeta's destruction, and about Raditz. They were shocked that there were survivors. Raditz ordered huge helpings of food and began shovelling it down his throat. Even though it didn't taste very good, and he wasn't sure why exactly it was he was eating so much. He could cook way better, since his mother had taught him how. He didn't care though, and kept eating as it distracted him from his thoughts that kept resurfacing.

He ate many portions and the others in the room were in awe of the boy's appetite. It was only until he heard a greeting in the Saiyan language, did he stop.

He looked up to see a huge man, with a small tuft of hair on his head, and a boy, much, much smaller by comparison, with flame-like hair beside him. Raditz instantly recognised this pair as the famous General Nappa and Prince Vegeta. He was ordered back on his home planet to go and serve these two on missions during the summer break. He didn't expect them to be here.

"Well, don't you know respect!? Greet us back!" Nappa barked. Raditz immediately got up from his seat and nearly tripped doing so. He then bowed and formally greeted them in Saiyan.

"I take it you've heard the news?"

"Y-yes Prince Vegeta.. .It's unfortunate that you'll never become king."

 _"It doesn't matter, you low-class fool!_ As long as I become stronger! Stronger than everyone else. Then, I will have done my race proud."

Raditz stayed silent and was about to keep eating when Nappa chimed in.

"That's alot of food, kid." _Alot?_ This wasn't even filling Raditz up!

"And..its gonna be pretty expensive."

"But...General Nappa? I thought that it was free for warriors who work for the Planetary Trade Organisation?"

" _Technically_ , you aren't a warrior yet. So you would have to pay." He grimaced.

"W-WHAT!?" Raditz didn't have enough money for all of this. "Relax kid, I'm an elite. Kid, it's…Well was worth more than your house. I'll pay for it, but just this once."

"Really?! Thank you so much, General!"

"But…" Vegeta smirked as Nappa continued.

"You'll be paying me back once you start earning your own money, won't you?" Raditz didn't need his scouter to know that Nappa could crush him with just one hand.

"Y-yes..of course."

"Good. As long as you follow orders..we'll get along, won't we, um… What's your name, kid?"

"Why would you even bother with this trash, Nappa? He doesn't deserve to be called by a name!" Raditz found the Prince rude...but he was sort of right. The way the Prince spoke was strange to Raditz. He figured it was because he was common. The other two had posh accents and spoke proper. His mother told him to speak like that but he found it weird. Besides, his mother was common too.

Raditz sat while Vegeta made fun of him and talked about how he didn't deserve a Saiyan name. He decided he wasn't going to take it.

"My name is Raditz, not trash! And I'm a Saiyan, like you!" The Prince's face changed all of a sudden. Even Nappa gulped.

"Listen here, _low class._ You're lucky this is your first time talking to me. Actually, you're lucky just to be in my presence. But you'd better learn how to talk to people of a higher status. You'll get respect when you deserve it. And I don't respect you enough to call you by name. If you _ever_ talk to me like that **again**...I will make sure you will never talk to me or anyone else again... _got it?!"_ Raditz nodded. Despite the Prince being just 5, and being smaller than him, he was much stronger and intimidating. Another thought came into Raditz's mind.

He would be stuck with these two, working under Frieza, for as long as he lived.

Vegeta's scouter beeped. "A message from Lord Frieza's office. He wants us there. Now."

Raditz had never met Lord Frieza before. Of course he knew of him. His race had never liked him, and he had never liked them.

As Raditz went with the others and approached his office, which was conveniently on the same ship, he bit his lip and didn't realise it was bleeding. He was scared and the others knew it. "All you have to do is shut up, kneel down and bow your head. If he asks you something, tell the truth and hide any emotion or fear in your voice." Nappa's advice didn't help the young Saiyan. They came to the door. Raditz licked the blood off his lips, took a deep breath and entered with his new comrades…


	2. Sudden Realisation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry my first chapter was so short! It was a lot for me to write back then!  
> Enjoy!

The chrome red, steel doors made a eerie creaking sound as the two guards pulled them open.

_'Just follow their lead and you'll be ok!'_ Raditz told himself. His heart felt like it was going to burst out of his chest. The 3 saiyans walked halfway along the red carpet beneath their feet. Nappa and Vegeta dropped onto one knee and had their right hands over their hearts as expected. Raditz quickly followed suit. He hadn't had much chance to gaze upon Lord Frieza but he did notice the priceless objects scattered around the spacious room. They looked liked artifacts from various planets, they reminded Raditz of treasures he had read about. He enjoyed stories about explorers on fantastic and mystical adventures to find precious things.

Vegeta spoke, since he was the only one with a high enough status allowed to speak without being asked a question or given permission. "Greetings, Lord Frieza. May I ask why you have called for us?"

Lord Frieza swirled his wine glass. "It has come to my attention, and presumably yours, that your home planet has been struck by a meteor and has been completely decimated. You three are the only survivors I have found..unless you know of any more that could have been off world, Prince Vegeta?" Vegeta thought for a moment and replied "No, Lord Frieza, I do not know of any other survivors."

"Ah well..I offer my condolences, Saiyans. The contract I made with your King is still binding, meaning that you three are under my power and will work for the Planet Trade Organisation. I will provide for you accommodation as well as regular payment as and when work is done. Prince Vegeta, you may receive an education, free of charge."

"Uh.. What about me?" Raditz spoke out of turn. Big mistake. A round, pink soldier with spikes looked ready to discipline Raditz in a violent way. "Brat, don't you know how to speak to Lord Frieza!?"

"Hush Dodoria!" Frieza immediately silenced his left-hand man. "Come here child." Frieza spoke in a way that caused shivers to run down Raditz's spine.

"M-me sir?!" Although he had tried to hide his fear, Raditz had shown himself as a frightened child.

"Indeed. Come closer." Raditz looked at his comrades for a moment. They remained expressionless and neither looked like they were going to do something regarding his predicament.

He willed his legs to step forward and looked at Lord Frieza and his two aides. The man on the right had teal skin and was very different to the pink, blobby soldier on the left. Raditz had heard of him before..Zarbon, he remembered. Frieza's 2 aides were well known by all, for their power and how close they were to the tyrant. Raditz felt underwhelmed by Frieza's appearance but he knew appearances were often deceiving. He was small from what Raditz could tell. He sat in his hoverchair and sipped wine in a refined manner.

"Come even closer..I want a good look at you. Stand right in front of me." Raditz, despite his instincts telling him to run far away quickly, walked closer. Frieza grabbed him by his face and dug his claws into his cheeks.

"Hmmm…" Frieza looked the boy up and down then released his grasp. Raditz stepped back a little and hadn't realised his tail had come unfurled from around his waist and had puffed up as a result of fear. "What is your name, boy?"

"My name is Raditz, sir."

"And how old are you?"

"Seven and a half, Lord Frieza." Frieza checked Raditz's power level and chuckled slightly. "For a low class Saiyan child..you are quite powerful. I think you have potential."

"Uh..t-thank you..sir."

"Fate has smiled upon you, boy. You have a chance to prove myself within my empire. You also seem intelligent..but your obedience needs to be worked on. For today, I will let it slide. I will also provide an education for you. Do remember that you are a _very_ lucky **monkey**."

"O-ok!"

"You mean 'of course, Lord Frieza'."

"Of course, Lord Frieza."

"There's a good boy." Frieza ruffled Raditz's long hair, making the child incredibly uncomfortable.

"You will be provided with a place to stay on Home Base shortly. You are dismissed."

"Thank you, Lord Frieza." The Saiyans bowed and left swiftly. Once out of the room, Raditz fixed his hair and his tail. He felt like he couldn't breathe in there and didn't want to imagine what would happen if he angered Frieza in the future. He knew he would have to be loyal to Frieza to have a chance in his army.

The Saiyans went in silence to reception where they would be told where they were going to live. Raditz did not feel like a _'lucky monkey'_ , as Frieza put it. He felt the complete opposite. Perhaps he had angered the gods and they felt like he deserved punishment. Raditz knew nothing in his life would be the same again and he would have to grow up fast even if he didn't really want to.

_'Just watch me father. I'll be stronger than you were. Mother, I will make you proud.'_

After hours of waiting around, the temperamental prince became fed up. " _Honestly_ , they expect me to wait around as if I am a commoner! I will not stand this any longer!" He walked up to the lady at the desk, who was the same kind woman Raditz had encountered not long ago, and hovered so that he could be seen over the tall desk. "Hurry up and tell me where I am going to live, **woman**!"

"Sorry kid, the whole PTO is flooded with paperwork and it's been difficult to locate a place for you to stay."

"I am a **prince**. And I am far more important than your paperwork. So if you want to live, you had better provide us answers, _is that clear!?"_

Bardock had called Prince Vegeta a brat in the past, yet Gine had always thought the Saiyan prince was adorable and would scold Bardock for saying such a thing about the heir to the throne. _'Looks like my father was right..'_ Raditz thought.

"Alright, alright!" She typed frantically at the keyboard. "Ok.. I found you a place. It..is not as fancy as a palace..but it shall do. Housing unit number 13…room 404. Take tram number 3 from here and it will be in that district. Once you get to the building just state your names and then they shall give you a key to the room."

Vegeta and Nappa walked away without thanking the receptionist. When Raditz walked past her he said in almost a whisper so that the sensitive Saiyan ears of his comrades couldn't hear, "Thanks…I'm sorry if they were rude."

"It's fine.." She stretched out her hand and gave him another biscuit, which he put in his satchel.

He caught up with the others and they briskly made their way to the trams. They remained in silence, all three of them, and disregarded the whispers from other people they passed. "I **despise** these trams." Vegeta complained, once they got to the station. "They're so crowded…and filled with the most common and vulgar trash from across the universe." Vegeta glanced at Raditz as he spoke.

Raditz did agree that the trams were often crowded but argued that it was useful because tickets could not be checked when the trams were packed. "Me and my dad go on these trams to go to see tournaments. I remember last time.. everyone started chanting some rude song!" Raditz giggled making Vegeta roll his eyes.

"You see what I mean by common and vulgar?" The Prince looked up at his bodyguard. Raditz didn't say anything else after that. He looked at various people around him, trying to guess things about them. He liked to do that often. It was a fun distraction. He looked up at the screen:

T R A M 3- APPROX. 45 MINS DUE TO DELAYS.

Vegeta and Nappa would lose their shit when they saw. "Guys…since the tram is coming in 45 minutes…do you mind if I go walk around?"

" _45 MINUTES!?_ GRAND ZENO SURELY DESPISES US!" A vein on the commander's forehead was about to burst.

"…If you let me go…I can try find out a reason…or a quicker route."

"Oh I don't care! Just go somewhere where you ain't bothering us! Do **NOT** get into trouble and remember to buy us snacks from a vending machine, am I clear soldier!?"

"Y-yes sir!" Raditz involuntarily stood up straight, saluted and marched off. Instantly, his natural sense of curiosity kicked in.

_'…Getting into a little bit of trouble is harmless right?'_ He thought.

Soon, he came across a newspaper stand, with a teenage boy selling them. Raditz picked one up and browsed its contents. It included an article about the destruction of his home planet within it. "Hey kid! If you ain't payin', you ain't reading!" The person at the stand soon realised that Raditz was a Saiyan and his confidence quickly turned into cowardice, "Oh! I'm sorry! D-Don't hurt me please! You can take the paper for free!"

"…uh…nah it's ok." Raditz placed the newspaper back on the pile and walked off.

"Ugh! What's with this hold up!?" A disgruntled middle class soldier asked another. "They're scraping some teenage girl from off the tracks down South."

"Tsk! Honestly!"

Raditz overheard their conversation easily. Being a Saiyan meant he had excellent hearing. He also would eavesdrop due to him wanting to know everything, even if there were consequences. It was better to find out something that after hearing it you would rather have not heard it than to never know at all, right? Those were his thoughts, regardless. However, Raditz didn't understand why the girl was on the tracks in the first place. Didn't she know how dangerous the trams were due to their high speeds? ' _Perhaps she had fallen?'_ He came up with reasons why the girl had died. _'Maybe I can play detective and find out!'_

Seeing many movies where there were murder mysteries had put this idea into his head. It was always fun to imagine things or to imagine yourself differently. Unfortunately, Raditz had gotten into trouble in the past for being too imaginative and getting carried away.

He walked South, along the rails, as that was where the two middle class soldiers had said the accident had taken place. He reached a point where there were many officers in the area. The rest of the platform and rails were cut off by fences which were guarded.

There was also a large angry mob, who desperately wanted to be on the trams.

"Please calm down folks! We are doing the best we can to resolve this issue!" An officer attempted to calm the people.

"Yeah right!"

"What even happened anyway?!" The mob fired questions at them.

"There has been an unfortunate accident involving a teenage girl. That is all we can provide you with. There will be delays for the rest of the hour." The same officer spoke.

"It's nearly 9pm! Some of us have places to be!" Luckily for them, it was Summer on the base planet and sunset wouldn't happen for another hour.

Raditz grew tired of the endless arguing. He didn't receive an answer with enough detail, meaning he would have to take matters into his own hands. He picked up a pebble that was on the ground and threw it at the officers blocking the way. He proceeded to hide behind other people that were larger than him so that he would not be caught and punished. From seeing the pebble hit the officer, the mob was inspired to turn to violence, which created a distraction, allowing Raditz to sneak through a gap. He was small enough to go unnoticed.

He could see more people on the tracks, as well as some detectives and an ambulance.

_'Wow! It's just like on TV!'_ The boy was surprised at how accurate TV was in recreating crime scenes. Carefully, he hid behind a pillar and watched them work. It was interesting, but after a while, he felt bored. Then, he noticed out of the corner of his eye, a girl, around his age sitting beside a vending machine, close to the ambulance. She had cherry red curls and skin the colour of blossoms. Her dress was light and summery, with an ice cream sauce stain. Even though it was Summer, it felt like Winter to Raditz, who was used to the high heat that emanated from the 2 suns of Vegeta-sei. The girl was visibly crying into her hands.

Everyone else was much too busy to pay attention to Raditz or the crying girl, so he casually made his way over to her. His mother had always told him to be nice to girls. Raditz didn't know why, but would try anyway.

"Hey." He said softly. She didn't reply.

Eating always made Raditz feel better, so he went over to the vending machine and inserted a crumpled note and received an energy drink and bag of crisp. He held them out to her and said "…I'm sorry if you don't like this flavour…do you still want it?"

The girl wiped her eyes and shook her head, confused at his kindness. Most people weren't like that. She wondered if, perhaps, this boy was broken, like her big sister was.

"…You look..sad."

"…my sister is dead." The girl eventually spoke.

"Why? Did she die in battle? Or of illness?

"Suicide."

"…I don't think I know what that means..is that a sickness?"

"S-she jumped into the tracks…she killed herself." She burst into tears.

"…oh..that's why there are delays then.."

The girl stood up and furiously yelled, tears running down her cheeks, "I THOUGHT YOU WERE NICE! Y-YOU'RE JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE! ALL YOU PEOPLE CAN CARE ABOUT IS GETTING ON WITH YOUR LIVES! YOU DON'T CARE THAT MY SISTER KILLED HERSELF BECAUSE OF HOW AWFUL OUR LIVES ARE!! YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT ME OR ANYONE ELSE!"

Raditz did not have any words. She was right. Nobody cared about other people apart from themselves.

"… **you** probably don't understand…" She turned and was about to walk away.

"No! I get it! My home planet was destroyed…and in the newspaper…they didn't care about me…or any other survivors..they cared about how it would affect the PTO's economy and power!"

Raditz felt pain in the back of his throat. His eyes went watery.

He wasn't… _he couldn't._

A wave of realisation hit him.

It hadn't sunk in before. He was alone. No matter how much he deluded himself by saying that Nappa and Vegeta cared. His brother could be dead for all he knew, yet he grasped on to the hope of finding him.

His everything was gone. His friends, family, possessions, he could tell himself a million times that he didn't care, that he should let go of his useless sentiments, but deep down..

Raditz loved Vegeta-sei. Everything about it. He couldn't let go of it, there was no way he could.

He fell to his knees and sobbed shamefully. It had years since he cried like that.

"I'm sorry." The girl said.

Raditz kept crying for a few minutes and to his surprise, the girl did not judge him. She advised him to just keep breathing. After a few minutes, he felt much better.

"My name is Raditz. What's yours?"

"Zaffra."

"Are you a fighter in the Frieza Force, like me?"

"No. My sister was. I can fight..but I'm not as good as she was. I'm going to work in technology..well after I graduate."

"Why did your sister do it?"

Zaffra took out a note.

"My sister wrote this. She couldn't take the pressure anymore." Zaffra passed Raditz the note:

**"Dear world, Please forgive my shameless act of cowardice. I have made the decision to end my own life based on the fact that there is no role for me in this universe. I can't take another day of this. Since the death of my parents, I have only been living to keep my sister alive and I can hardly do that because I am a low class warrior, who barely passed the examination to become a soldier. The only options I had left was to sell my sister or to become a prostitute.To my dear sister, I'm sorry for causing you this pain. The only thing I wanted in life was to give you a future. It's ok if you're angry at me for leaving you but once you are older, I hope you will understand why I made this choice.-Sillantra"**

Raditz returned the note.

The tannoy made an announcement, cutting through the silence: **TRAM 3 WILL LEAVE IN 5 MINUTES.**

"Zaffra…what will happen to you? How will you earn money?"

"I'll find a way. If not…there are places for minors to take refuge."

"I hope we meet again, Zaffra."

"Me too..Raditz."

He smiled at her and walked away.

After squeezing through the barrier again, Raditz went to wash his face in the restroom nearby, to hide any evidence that he had been crying. He didn't want to seem weaker than what his comrades perceived him to be.

"Well it's about time!" Nappa barked at him, once he returned. "What took so long?!"

"I was exploring.."

"I hope you found a vending machine during your..exploring!" Raditz held the snacks out once again. The commander snatched them out of his hands and began to munch on them. Prince Vegeta refused to eat anything. Finally, the tram came.

The Saiyans were lucky to have found empty seats to sit on. Raditz stared blankly out of the window. As the world outside blazed past, he thought about Zaffra, and how he felt less lonely when he was in her presence.

He truly hoped they would meet again.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Thanks for reading another chapter. If you want to read a newer better work of mine, it’s called Living in The Shadows of Heroes, and centres around Goten in an AU taking the place of GT

The tram halted and the doors opened. After stepping out, Raditz instantly knew that Lord Frieza had specifically chosen such a poor area for the Saiyans to live in.

_'Shit…I thought the markets in Vegeta-sei were sketchy..'_

"What a dump." Nappa sighed.

They waded through the trash covered streets and came to housing unit number 13. "Well boys..this is it." The only pleasant thing that this place had, Raditz concluded, was the sunset. There was nothing too special about it, yet the colour of the sky reminded Raditz of his home.

If only the place they were going to live in was as warm and inviting.

Nappa pressed a buzzer. The voice that came out of the speaker was almost unintelligible due to the primitive technology. Whilst Nappa was talking into the microphone, Raditz observed the building. It was covered with graffiti, which provided the only bit of colour on the dull, standard building.

Soon, the door was opened by a woman, who looked as if she was in the middle of sweeping the floors. She had auburn locks with pink streaks that was tied in a messy bun. Her ears were pointy, and so were her teeth. She had wings, indicating she was some sort of fairy-like creature. Raditz presumed by her clothing that she was the janitor in this unit.

"Hello. It's lovely to meet you!" She bowed and dropped her broom clumsily.

"Whoops!" The woman nervously laughed and reached down to pick up her broom. Raditz picked it up before she could and gave it to her.

"Here you go, miss!"

She smiled and introduced herself, "Oh, I'm terrible at introductions, my name is Kafi! I own this place..and live here…and work here. What's your name, kid?"

"I'm Raditz. It's nice to meet you, Miss Kafi."

Kafi looked up at Nappa, "Well isn't he polite?"

She bent down to Raditz again, "You seem like a nice boy!" She looked at Vegeta. "And who is this cutie?"

"FOR YOUR INFORMATION, _WOMAN_..I AM NOT A ' **CUTIE** '! I AM VEGETA, PRINCE OF ALL SAIYANS!"

"Aww! How lovely! Oh, I just remembered…It's awful you lost everything..I hope I can make you comfortable here!" Vegeta growled following her remarks.

Kafi's positive attitude was refreshing. She showed the Saiyans to their room. They had to take the stairs because of a malfunction with the lifts, but Kafi remained optimistic even when she talked about that. Her clumsiness and constant optimism reminded Raditz strongly of his now deceased mother. He was still not used to thinking of her in the past tense.

"The apartment is rather empty..but I think that within a few months you can make it look lovely! Also..I have some things for you..since you don't have much. Please excuse me for just a moment!"

She returned carrying various items of food that only required heating with a microwave or boiling water.

"Don't worry…I'll leave you alone now." She nervously giggled again and left.

Raditz liked Kafi. Just like Zaffra, when she was around, he felt at ease. Looking around the room, he spotted a small tv, an old, torn leather sofa in front of it and a table. He walked into the kitchen which was connected to the living room and was startled by a mouse that spotted Raditz and scampered back into its hole beside the washing machine. He opened the cupboards, which held nothing, and placed the food from Kafi inside.

"This TV is bust!" Nappa fiddled with the antenna to no avail. "Where's Vegeta?" Raditz asked.

"Eh? Oh, he went to one of the bedrooms. I…wouldn't bother him if I were you…He's in a bad mood."

"I…guess that's understandable."

Raditz went past Vegeta's room and entered the one adjacent to it.

Placing his satchel on the bed, he noticed a painting on the wall. It was a painting of a park, most likely on another planet, due to its mystical look and the colours used within the painting. The room itself, was around the size of the bedroom he had on Vegeta-Sei and was rather plain. The bed was placed by the window, which had uneven blinds. The view outside was surprisingly pleasant, the sunset could be seen behind the ocean in the distance.

_'If there's an ocean…there's gotta be a beach!'_

He lived close to the Western coast on his planet. The sand was the colour of rust and the still turquoise water would sparkle in the sunlight. Whenever Raditz had the chance to, he would go down to the beach, usually to clear his head. Sometimes, his mother would go with him and they would have picnics. Or on some days, his father would take him there for training.

Raditz decided that tomorrow he would go to the beach of this planet, to find a place where he could relax and not be bothered by anyone-his own little hiding place, away from the world. That sounded pleasant. For now, he would explore this building. He came out of his new bedroom and found that Nappa miraculously repaired the television.

"I'm **bored**."

"You can come watch the TV. It's not got the kid channels though. They cost way too much anyway."

"I'd rather talk to the neighbours."

Nappa scoffed, "Why in the name of Zeno would you want to do that?!"

"Um...to learn about this place?"

"You're even more strange than I thought. Ok..go but remember, DO NOT-"

"Get into trouble, _I know_!" He left, disregarding his guardian's words.

Raditz began to knock on every door, starting on his floor. 403 had no answer. Probably because it was getting very late now. He would check again tomorrow.

402 was next down. A girl around Vegeta's age opened the door.

"My mom says I shouldn't talk to strangers.." She seemed frightened. She began to pull the door to close it.

"My name is Raditz…and I live here now with two other Saiyans in 404. There! Now I am not a stranger!" He gave her a toothy grin and revealed his sharp canines, which shocked the girl.

"I-I should go now..my mom wouldn't like it if she knew that I was staying up so late." She closed the door abruptly.

"…bye." How disappointing! He learned nothing, not even her name. Well…he knew that people were living there, at least two.

He continued to knock on every door, though most did not answer. He discovered that most of the people residing in the building were dirt poor, just like him, and were mostly low class fighters, with some working non-combatant jobs. There were also more children around to play with, which pleased him since Prince Vegeta did not seem like a kid who liked to have fun.

Raditz guessed that Vegeta's idea of fun was slaughtering races of weaker people or training to become better than anyone. Well, he knew that was most Saiyan children's idea of fun. Raditz wondered if Vegeta knew how to be a child at all. Could he imagine things? Did he ever watch cartoons? Did he like sweets? He would find out eventually, he hoped. Not knowing things was the absolute worst!

Soon, Raditz had checked every single room and was on the ground floor. He was ready to go all the way back up the stairs and go eat something in his room (as he was very hungry by this time), when he heard a door groaning as it opened behind the stairs.

It turns out that there was a basement. He flipped the light switch on and walked down the stairs. Halfway down, the bulb went out, leaving him in complete pitch blackness. Carefully, so that he would not trip down the creaking wooden stairs, he made his way down one step at a time. He noticed that it was colder down here and he felt like he was being followed, like there was something looming in the shadows behind him. His only guidance was the small sliver of light coming from the door that lay in front of him. Easily, he pushed the door open.

This room was another apartment. It was well furnished compared to his own, the wallpaper was less of an eyesore and so were the curtains. Everything was much, much cleaner in this place.

"H-Hello?" Raditz hated how he sounded just then. As if he was petrified!

"Oh!" Kafi jumped and some popcorn flew out of her bowl. She was watching a TV show and was now dressed in her pajamas. "You startled me, kid!" She laughed sheepishly.

"I'm very sorry, Miss Ka- oh is that the finale of 'Galaxy's best artist'?!" He pointed to the TV. He was watching the semi-final with his mother a few evenings ago. At first, he found the show uninteresting, but found himself drawn into it. He didn't know why.

Kafi was taken aback by Raditz's reaction to the show.

"Uh..yeah..I didn't think Saiyans were into these kinda shows.."

"W-well…I'm not into it…not really! My mother is though!" He felt embarrassed about how just un-saiyanlike he had just sounded.

 _'Damn..I don't have the heart to correct the kid…he's still referring to his mother like she's still alive. Even though his people committed such horrific atrocities..I feel kinda bad for him..he's so different to the other two of his kind that are left.'_ Kafi thought to herself.

"Hey…Raditz, right?" The boy nodded. "You can watch the final with me if you like…we can share the rest of the popcorn."

"No, it's ok..you have already done enough for me! I should go to bed."

As if he would fall asleep. He found it difficult to sleep in unfamiliar places. He guaranteed he would be awake for the entire night, most likely overthinking everything, as usual.

"It's fine. It isn't like you have school tomorrow. You wouldn't be imposing, don't worry." She tapped the sofa, which motioned him to sit down.

Sitting on the sofa of a lady he had just met an hour ago was not on Raditz's to-do list for the day…but neither was losing pretty much everything and everyone he ever knew, meeting Lord Frieza himself and befriending a girl who's sister comitted suicide. It had been…a crazy day, to put it in simple terms.

"Would you like any tea?"

"No thank you, Miss Kafi."

"Tea not your thing, eh, kid?"

"I do like tea…but only when my mother makes it. She says that tea can fix anything...well pretty much anything. I don't mean to insult your tea making skills though."

"Would you like anything else? Don't be shy! I've got plenty of food, it will all go to waste!"

"Why do you have so much food if it's only you living in here?"

"I forgot to mention..I have two sons around your age. I think you'll get along well, they should be back before summer is over."

"Where did they go?"

"Oh, Lord Frieza sent them away to some..'summer camp'. I bought a shedload of food to last the summer…but Frieza said that their trip was compulsory. Ah well, at least I didn't have to pay..but I hope they're alright..

I think you and your race are aware of how Frieza tends to treat people.."

"Does your husband live here?" Raditz didn't see a ring on Kafi's finger but she must have been with someone at some point, right?

"No..I was never married.." From her tone, Raditz sensed that it was best to change the subject.

"Uh..who do you think will be the winner?" The show was just about to reach its climax.

"Oh definitely Ikeva. She's my favourite."

"Mine too. She really deserves it."

Ikeva did not win. Raditz knew that if his mother saw this, she would be ranting about how the competition was rigged or something along those lines.

"Aw. Oh, I really should get going..Nappa would worry…well..I hope he would worry." He stood up, ready to leave but then noticed a painting on Kafi's wall, in a similar style to the one in his room.

"You're welcome back anytime!"

"That painting…where did you get it from? I saw a similar one in my bedroom."

"Oh that? It's..just something I did a while ago. I've put a lot of my paintings in different rooms…just to liven the place up a lil', you know?"

"They're so good! You should enter that painting competition, I bet you'd win!"

"N-no way! I'm glad you like them so much..but they just aren't enough for that competition..besides I can't really leave here. I have a lot of work to do! And I need to look after my boys."

Raditz could tell she was just looking for reasons not to go. He sensed that she was unhappy, even behind her smile.

"I guess that's..understandable…um..Good night, Miss Kafi!"

"Night, Raditz. I hope you sleep ok." Just as he was at the door, Kafi added, "Hey..even though it doesn't seem like it now..things will get better for you..I can just tell." He grinned at her and left, making sure the door was closed.

He managed to get back up the stairs in one piece, despite the flickering light. When he finally went back to his apartment, he found Nappa lying asleep on the couch, the volume of his snoring akin to vehicle engines. Raditz thought his snoring was just like his father's. There were empty ramen cups on the table that had a strong, savoury aroma. Raditz disposed of these. He was surprised that he no longer wished to eat. His eyes had become heavy and he could only think about sleep.

As he passed Prince Vegeta's door he considered checking on him, to see if he was asleep, but decided this would not be a good idea, in case he woke him. Raditz didn't like to be woken from his sleep and presumed that Vegeta also didn't.

Laying himself down on the bed, he noticed how thin the mattress was. The springs within it creaked, even though he wasn't very heavy. The pillow was also much too soft and flat. His head sunk deeply into it, and not in a comfortable way. The sheets, too, were uneven, with one end thicker than the other. Raditz tried his best to rectify the issues with the bed, but didn't make a lot of difference. He felt very frustrated now and like he was going to cry, which angered him further. He continuously tossed and turned, trying to make himself more comfortable.

_'Ugh! Why can't I just sleep already!? I've been lying here for like forever!'_

He thought about how he could make himself sleep. Tea?

No, it was much too late for tea, he would just need the bathroom after.

Tv?

Fat chance trying to find the remote and not waking anyone up. He looked around the room and suddenly, he remembered. In his satchel he pulled out a book. It was a notebook he had filled over time with diary entries and stories he had written, as well as some doodles. He was looking for a good story to tire his perpetually running brain out, when he found an interesting diary entry he had written last year while he was flicking through pages:

_"Dear Diary,_ _I really wish my family would go away sometimes!_ _My daddy can be so mean. He said we would train when he got back from work and I was so excited! He came back and he checked my power level to see how well I was doing. I went up by 30 in a week and I thought he would be happy. He told me he 'expected better from me at this age' and that 'if I'm gonna be a good fighter I have to try harder and be better.'_ _I got angry at him and tried to hit him but he caught my fist even though that was my strongest punch! He knocked me to the floor easily. It hurt and my eyes were watery. I was NOT crying though! My dad thought I was crying and hit me again."_

Raditz didn't want to read any more. That wish about wanting his family to go away..

The gods had sent a punishment for having such thoughts, he figured. He refused to think about it any longer and found a story he had been writing for sometime, but had not yet finished.

The story was about a brave boy, who was once an outcast, gaining special and magical powers that couldn't be understood by other people and rising up to become the hero to save them. He made the boy like himself…but of course, much better. Raditz recalled his mother telling him that everyone has a story and that the decisions they make leads to the type of ending they get.

He hoped his story would be as awesome as the one he had written and that he would get his happily ever after.

 _'I guess this is just the part of the story where things go wrong for the hero…'_ He thought about the events that occurred in his own life. _'At least, after the part of the story where bad things happen, the hero undoes the bad things and everything works out!'_

When he kept reading what he had written, his hopes grew. He was certain he was as courageous and strong as the boy in his story, he just had to be.

He put the book away and fell asleep.


	4. Perilous Proposition

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I think this is the point where my writing actually begins to improve and we get some world building. As always, enjoy!

Raditz was sure that he was the first in the building to be awake.

He had been staring up at the ceiling since 3am and had familiarised himself with all of the cracks and spots on it. Supposedly, this information was useful, since it was good to know where the ceiling would leak in Winter. What else would he be doing anyway? There was no one else to have a conversation with. Nothing he could do without disturbing someone's sleep. He considered writing in his notebook or reading but felt like it was hard to focus.

Eventually, he went to the bathroom. The mirror was covered in a thick layer of dust. Raditz hovered to its level and ran his finger across the mirror. The toilet was working, thank the gods. After relieving himself, struggling to turn the rusty taps on and shaking his hands dry (since there was no towel), he exited.

When he stepped out he saw Prince Vegeta standing outside his room, the door behind him open. Both boys stared each other dead in the eye and wished the other to be gone. Nappa's snoring cut through the awkward silence.

"What are you doing awake? It ain't even sunrise yet, Vegeta."

" **PRINCE** Vegeta to you, ugh, does your peasant brain remember _anything_?!" Raditz shushed him, so that he wouldn't wake up their sleeping guardian.

"Don't worry about him, his skull is so thick he can't hear us, honestly, he could sleep through wars!" Raditz giggled even though he knew that what his Prince had said was quite rude.

"How long have you been awake, Prince Vegeta?"

"Longer than you have. I'd say around 3 hours ago."

"Well..you should get some rest. It isn't healthy to lose a lot of sleep."

"And yet here you are, **awake**."

Raditz saw the dark circles beneath the eyes of his prince. He decided that, even though Vegeta was cruel in his speech, he would help him.

"If you want…I can help you sleep?"

"I don't **want** your help or _need_ it! Besides, how could you even help? Looks like you have insomnia too, so how can you help me if you can't fix yourself?!"

_'What in the HFIL is that?'_

"Uh..I don't think I have inso-..in..some..whatsa?"

"Insomnia."

"That's what I meant! Anyway..sometimes stories help me sleep."

"Like..legends? Tales like the super saiyan one?"

"Sure I guess..I'm pretty good at making stories like that one up. People say I'm imaginative..sometimes too imaginative for my own good.."

Vegeta ended up agreeing after thinking about it. They went into Vegeta's room and the prince got himself into bed while Raditz sat on the edge of it.

"What kinda story you want?" He asked. 

"The Super Saiyan legend, of course!" The Prince demanded as if it was an obvious request.

"I...can't remember all of it..sorry." Raditz shrugged.

"Well I do and I'm younger than you!" The 5 year old boasted, crossing his arms.

"If you know it so well, why are you asking to hear it again, don'tcha get bored of it?" Raditz knew he was playing a dangerous game by questioning his superior, but was too tired to care.

"I…I just…ugh! You wouldn't get it!"

Raditz didn't understand why Vegeta acted strangely upon mention of the tale.

"Well..I know other Saiyan stories..some that are more traditional around where I lived..you probably haven't heard them. Or..I could tell you a story about you!" Raditz offered, making the Prince raise his eyebrows.

"How is that possible? You're going to create a tale about me? You hardly know anything about me!"

"I can tell you a story about how you defeat Frieza and become the super saiyan legend!"

"That sounds..rather pleasant. Alright then. You shall tell me this tale..and it had better be good!"

"Ok...once upon a time..there was a small prince." He began

Vegeta growled.

"I am NOT small!"

"Ok, ok! He was..not small..no..his stature and demeanour was threatening to all of his loyal subjects. One day..he and his people came under the rule of a vicious tyrant. He was ruthless..and very, _very_ ugly. So ugly, he had a face not even a mother could love!"

Vegeta laughed briefly, but his face rapidly returned to its serious look once he had noticed Raditz was looking at him.

"The Prince was angry. He stormed straight into the Lizard's office..powering up as he did so. He was courageous and had a strong sense of pride. He had to protect his people, no matter what! When he stood in front of the emperor..he thought of the prophecy..it had to be him! The tyrant began to fight the prince..and he didn't play fair! He held the prince tightly in his grasp..his energy was fading fast.."

"When does it get to the me winning part?!"

"Hey, just wait, I'm getting there! The prince thought he had lost..he thought about everyone, everything he stood for. He wasn't gonna let his pride be taken like this! Then it happened..he was a Super Saiyan!" Vegeta's eyes shone with hope now, he could see it all in his head, perfectly.

"The tyrant was soon defeated. However..the prince made sure he was punished for what he had done! He tortured the lizard until he begged and cried like a little bitch!" Raditz was getting rather enamoured with his own tale.

"And..then what happened?"

"Um..I guess he lived happily ever after?"

"I wanted him to take over the universe!"

"Ok..he lived happily ever after..as the emperor of the universe!" The ending was admittedly rushed.

"Tell me more..I am not tired yet!"

Raditz had enjoyed telling him the story, even though Vegeta kept interrupting. He continued to let his mind run wild, he saw how enthralled the Prince was, how he hung off Raditz's every word.

Soon, the Saiyan Prince had fallen asleep. He looked peaceful when he was asleep, Raditz thought, less murdery, more..like an actual child.

Raditz, however, stayed awake for the next few hours and by 10am everyone was awake. Vegeta acted like what had happened before never occured, and maintained his regal and formal attitude. It kinda hurt Raditz. Even though he had just seen another side of the Prince, he felt like he got no closer to him.

"You boys up for training?" Nappa asked that morning as he poured boiling water into the cups of ramen.

"Not really. I wanna check this place out." How could he train when so much plagued his mind?

"Sorry to tell ya kid, but I don't think you'll find anything exciting."

Vegeta cut in, "There's no point asking him to train with us Nappa, he'll only distract us!"

Raditz knew he shouldn't fight back, since the only outcome would be defeat..but still felt the desire to say something, to stand up for himself.

His desire was so strong it overtook reason.

"What do you mean?! I am one of the strongest low class Saiyan children! I'll prove my worth!" Raditz clenched his fists, convincing himself he was powerful.

Vegeta looked ready to strike, but Nappa, sensing the high tension in the room, declared, "Well, it looks like Raditz will be joining us, after all! Now, less talkin' more eatin'!"

They ate their breakfast (which was an incredibly light one for Saiyan appetites) and made their way to the centre.

 _'You can do this! Show 'em that us low classes are not weak, just like how father taught you!'_ Raditz was so lost in his own thoughts, trying to hype himself up, he hardly realised he entered the training centre. The gravity was higher than Raditz was used to. Planets he went to usually had a lower gravity level. He fell over, losing his balance after a single step.

"What in the name of the gods are you doing, boy?!" Nappa turned to him whilst Vegeta stared and bit his lip, trying not to burst into raucous laughter.

"Sorry, I didn't expect the gravity to be this high!" He struggled, but managed to get back up, slowly adjusting as he moved.

"Hmph! This is nothing to a real fighter!" Vegeta just had to make him feel worse. "I've been on planets with gravity much higher than this, even when I was 3!"

_'It's all mind games! Don't listen to them! They're scared of your potential, remember?'_

"Nappa! Tell these people I demand a training room with 5 high level Saibamen!" Vegeta ordered.

"If you say so, Prince." Nappa walked up to the desk and told them.

"Prince Vegeta, are you sure you can handle that many Saibamen?" Raditz could hardly beat one. Vegeta wasn't that strong, he couldn't be!

"Oh, _please!_ This is only a warm up for me!"

Vegeta went into the room and got into a firm battle stance. The Saibamen looked eager to attack. Raditz and Nappa stood, behind the viewing screen, watching every slight movement.

The Saibamen struck first.

Vegeta dodged their attacks effortlessly.

"Looks like it's my turn!" The Prince of Saiyans made his move. He kicked the head off of one Saibamen and leaped into the air, knowing the others would try to grasp him. Raditz could only stare, eyes wide, mouth agape. His Prince perfectly planned every punch, every kick, every blast.

Raditz should have felt pride swelling in his chest. Prince Vegeta was the embodiment of his race. He was everything they stood for.

But all Raditz could feel was envy.

_'IT ISN'T FAIR! Why can he do all of that, yet I can't?! He's never had to work for anything, he was born with his power! Even when I can fight that well..he'll still be better. I can't do this. Oh my Zeno, I'm a **fool**! How could I have believed..believed that I could survive here!? And now..they expect to see me fight, to kill. What if I can't do it?! What if I'm really a screw up, like people said?! I can't..'_

"Nappa, please excuse me, I'm going to the bathroom!" Raditz somehow regained his voice and rushed off urgently.

' _What the heck is with that boy?!'_ Nappa shook his head. Vegeta emerged from the training room, his small frame dripping with sweat.

"Oh dear, did I scare that trash away?" Vegeta laughed scornfully, after noticing the low class was gone.

Once in the bathroom, Raditz learnt that instant ramen did not taste so good when it came back up. It was fortunate that no one was in the bathroom to witness such an embarrassing thing.

He was hardly ever sick. When he was thinking about Vegeta and being in battle, his head started to spin and he felt like his lungs didn't work. The sensation, however, was not unfamiliar. He recalled the feeling from when he had first killed a sentient being. He expected killing to be pleasant, he was not like his mother, after all. Although by the time he was 7 and had killed quite a few, he still felt uneasy about it.

He stopped thinking about everything and looked at himself in the mirror.

'You are a fucking mess.' His own reflection spat at him. 'I bet your parents are having fun without us in hell...even if they are eternally tortured, at least they don't have to bear the burden of _you_. You're a mistake. Even your Papa said it.'

"Shut up!" He put his hands over his ears and shut his eyes tight. He despised his reflection. It was always telling him the things he didn't want to hear. Raditz quickly cleaned himself up and headed back to his comrades.

"Finally!" Vegeta came up to him. "Now, I want to see what you can do. My father sent you with me because you were supposedly one of the best low class children, right?"

"Well, yes. But..your father also sent me because of my intelligence! I'm also one of the smartest Saiyan children!"

"We can see how clever you are when we go on a mission. But right now, as your Prince, I order you to go in there and face two standard level Saibamen. Is that clear?"

Nappa had already told the staff to set everything up. He couldn't admit he had never beaten 2 Saibamen before, no, that would make him look pathetic! There had to be a way out of this, he could find a way to solve anything!

"Hey..if it's ok with you..Prince Vegeta..I would like to get some water from the fountain just outside. It's hard to fight when parched, am I right?" Raditz nervously laughed.

"Very well. But **hurry** this time."

Raditz didn't expect that to go so well. Now for the next part of his plan: Break into the store room and destroy all of the Saibamen seeds.

Locating the store room wasn't much of a challenge. The door did have a sign on it, after all. The challenge was gaining entry to it.

_'A keycard? Huh, I would have thought it would be more high tech than this..'_

He scanned the entire room. There was nothing unusual or particularly helpful, only people training.

The front desk, however, was left unattended.

' _There's bound to be a card behind there!'_

He sneaked past people, those who caught sight of him gave him a hard stare. Raditz managed to get behind the desk unseen. He knelt down, checked no one was approaching and rummaged through the drawers, until, at long last he had found the keycard.

Stealthily, he made his way back to the door.

**DING!**

The sound of success echoed in his ears as he swiped the card.

The room was more like a laboratory, of the high calibre he expected of a PTO run centre. He blasted his way through the lab, destroying all of the Saibamen seeds. He dusted his hands off and felt proud of his work. 'Not bad! Now there's no way I can lose a fight to them!'

He quickly left and nonchalantly went back to his comrades.

"I hope you're ready now, low-class." Vegeta turned to him. The staff went to check in the room.

_'Now all I gotta do is look suprised when they return and tell us there are none left, and I'm free!'_

A scream came from the room..as well as the sounds of a whole crop of Saibamen.

_'Uh-oh..'_

The Saibamen ran out and caused havoc in the centre. Nappa and Vegeta attempted to stop them but soon every fighter in the centre was being swarmed by the creatures. All Raditz could do was hide and hope the elites would take care of it.

_'SHIT! How was I supposed to know that my ki would make them grow!?'_

He had caused this mess so he had to find a way to end it!

Running into the store room, which was now mostly destroyed, once more, he frantically searched for a way to stop the creatures. There was a note, hidden beneath some rubble about them. Raditz couldn't read the universal language very well. Even when he spoke it, he retained a slight Saiyan accent and didn't know complex or uncommon words. His mother never allowed the surgery on his brain to make him automatically know it, Raditz was always unsure why.

The note mentioned something about an emergency button…how it would cause a chemical to be released in the centre that would kill the Saibamen. Raditz needed to find that button quickly; he saw that the other two Saiyans were in trouble, they were heavily outnumbered.

He tossed pieces of debris from out of the way, making sure to leave no stone unturned. Finally, it came into view.

A huge sigh of relief came from him as he pressed the small red button. The vents sprayed a pungent mist into the air. The cacophony of Saibamen agonisingly dying, following the release of the spray was pleasant to all in the building.

As Raditz congratulated himself for solving the problem he caused..he noticed something.

There was a camera in the corner of the room.

Of course! How could be have been so ignorant and foolish?! Any room with high level technology tended to be monitored, why hadn't the thought crossed his mind?!

Fear settled in.

What would the consequences be?!

He sharply destroyed the camera, as if it would save him from his fate. The footage would still have been saved, someone was bound to catch him. Maybe if he fled quickly, he would not be found?

Raditz hurriedly found his comrades. They didn't require healing tanks, luckily.

"Hey, let's go home so you guys can get patched up! What a disaster, am I right?!" He nervously laughed and led the way out. Nappa reached forward and grabbed the long-haired boy by the shoulder, preventing him from moving.

"We ain't leaving yet! We'll get patched up here, and you can fight against me!" Nappa was insistent on seeing him fight.

"N-no! You can't do that!" Raditz burst out, clearly not thinking.

"Oh yeah?! Why not?!" While not a very bright man, Nappa was still able to tell when someone was pulling the wool over his eyes.

"Um…uh..t-the staff said they're closing because of what happened! Someone broke into the storage room and broke it all! We can come back tomorrow, its fine!"

Vegeta pushed a dead Saibamen off of him and stood up. "You're acting rather skittish. If I didn't know any better… _you_ had something to do with the incident..and are aiming to leave so you aren't caught."

"What?! That's crazy!" Raditz denied. He looked away from his Prince.

Vegeta walked up to one of the workers and asked audibly, "Why don't you guys check the camera footage to find the culprit?" He glanced over at Raditz and grinned evilly.

_'My life is over.'_

Raditz was caught easily. After he had received an earful from Nappa, the authorities were called by the workers.

"Do we really need to get them involved? Boys will be boys!" Well, at least Nappa was trying to stop him from being punished. Raditz stared daggers at Vegeta. His own kind exposed him! It..actually hadn't been the first time. In school, he tended to get involved in dares or pranks, and more often or not, some snobby middle or elite child, who usually was the one inspiring Raditz's misdeeds, would tell the teachers.

"Snitches get stitches" did not work in this circumstance, nor did it work in the past.

Large men, wearing protective armour that beared the PTO trademark, grabbed Raditz by the arms and lifted him, taking him away, forcefully. Nappa stood infront of them, again trying to argue on Raditz's behalf. The men continued taking him away and informed his guardian that they would not be allowed to follow.

"Let me go!" He kicked them and struggled, but it was as if they were made out of some unbreakable stone. He could not free himself from their grasp.

Raditz was chained and thrown into the back of a vehicle. Although he was quite distraught, he couldn't help thinking it was quite like a TV show or a movie. It was fun playing the villain sometimes.

"Where are you taking me?!" He yelled, demanding to know.

"Shut it kid, or we'll have to zap ya!" The officer in the vehicle with him pointed a large stick with sparks of electricity shooting from the end.

His tail frizzed up on sight of it, it reminded him of the sticks in his own school, though they hardly used it. The usual punishment in his school was to have slits cut into your tail: a more traditional consequence. The slits in Raditz's tail could still be seen.

Soon they wound up at a marvellous palace.

_'This doesn't look like prison.. Why would they take me here?'_

Then he remembered. This was Frieza's palace.

The emperor, who he had met only a day prior, would kill him! He felt that awful sensation again..so much dread that he felt physically ill.

They dragged him out of the vehicle, and the gates opened. All Raditz could do now, was pray.

"Lord Zarbon! We have the criminal here!"

Footsteps echoed through the main hall of the elegant building, as a feminine, yet powerful being descended from the staircase.

"Gentlemen," His tone containing no element of anger, "Please unhand this boy! He is my _guest_ , and I would never treat my guests with such an **abhorrent** display of brutishness!" The officers looked at each other in confusion.

"That is an **order** , gentlemen! Let go of this child and leave us..I intend to have tea and a private conversation with my guest!" Lord Zarbon shot them a harsh glare.

Realising that their superior was being serious, the men left. Raditz was the most bamboozled of all.

Where was the beating? Where was the screaming? Unless..Lord Zarbon was trying to trick him, yes, he had to be leading him into a false sense of security, then would deliver his wrath!

Zarbon stepped close to the boy, squinting down at him for a moment, that was uncomfortably long for Raditz.

"Come now boy, Lord Frieza is away, you needn't be afraid!" He sauntered off, most likely in the direction of the dining hall, Raditz assumed. His instincts sensed danger..but his nose sensed scrumptious food, and as Saiyans usually were..he was hungry. He followed the man, who had a spring in his step, seemingly unbothered by the child's actions.

They entered an extravagant dining room. On the table lay a spread of delicacies, some of which Raditz had never seen before! An array of pastries, cakes, meats and sauces, with various drinks, caused Raditz to drool. It was how he imagined royalty ate daily, he always dreamt of this kind of life, for him and his family.

"You seem hungry, child. _Please_ , sit down and commence." The teal-skinned alien pulled a chair out for him. Raditz wasted no time in consuming everything, tasting each different thing on offer, rapidly piling up empty plate, over empty plate.

"You **Saiyans**..certainly have huge appetite!"

Raditz paused from eating, almost breathless, "Yeah! If my parents were here..this food would be gone in a few minutes, and we would still want seconds!"

Raditz finished the luxurious meal and unwrapped his tail from around his waist, so he could be more comfortable.

He burped and his face went red. "S-sorry! I've forgotten my manners again," he chuckled nervously.

"Thank you graciously for the meal, Lord Zarbon..but may I ask why you have done this?"

Zarbon sat down in front of him, the cheery persona swiftly switching into seriousness.

"Now, boy, I am aware of your little stunt today."

Raditz went pale. _'And here comes my reckoning..'_ He braced himself for the pain.

"I must say, I am rather impressed by what you've managed..though I doubt Lord Frieza will be so joyous."

"W-what will happen to me?" He trembled.

"Well, once Lord Frieza returns..if he is generous..perhaps only a week or two in solitary confinement. Trust me, boy, it's best I don't tell you what happens to people who end up in there."

"And..if..if..he is in a _bad_ mood?"

"Let's just say..you'll be with the rest of your kind."

Raditz gulped.

"However, I am going to make you a proposition. You've proved that your intelligence is _far_ superior to that of most Saiyans."

A proposition? A final chance to live, Raditz supposed.

"Please tell me, sir."

"You are aware of the fact that your Prince is Lord Frieza's personal project, correct?" Raditz nodded even though he didn't really know that.

"I see potential in you, boy. The same way Lord Frieza does in Vegeta. You will be MY personal project. I intend to teach you, to train you..take you under my wing as they say. Of course, I promise you protection..it must be hard for you..being the last low class of your race. People won't like you. I hate to tell you this..but I'd be surprised if you last a year here."

Raditz sat in silence. He wished this was just some horrendous dream. He wished his mother could wake him up, that he could tell her all about his crazy dream and she could laugh, telling him it's nothing.

But this was real. It sounded like a great opportunity, especially to an opportunist, such as himself, but there was something in his gut, saying that he shouldn't make this deal.

"Sorry, Lord Zarbon..I must decline. Thank you for such a kind offer..um..I really should go." He felt very uncomfortable, looking at the man, who was clearly offended by the rejection.

"You _little_ …" Zarbon sighed heavily and calmed himself. "What is your name again?"

"Raditz.."

"Raditz..you don't seem to be understanding me. I want to **protect** you. You like all this luscious food, _right_? And you want to be strong, don't you? I do not make offers like this everyday, child..and in your position...I would be thinking carefully. Wouldn't it be such a shame if Lord Frieza had to kill you, when you have so much more to give to this empire?"

He could not refuse. Even if he wanted to.

"Ok..I will accept.."

"Good boy, I knew you'd make the right choice. Also, call me **Master** Zarbon from now, understand? Oh, and don't look so afraid of me, I won't bite!" The regal alien returned to his cheery ways and ruffled the boy's hair, the same way Lord Frieza did.

How could Raditz not be frightened? Behind that dazzling smile, Raditz could sense that his new master was not all that he seemed to be.

Zarbon showed him to the door and provided him with a card that would allow him to get tram rides for free and would let him into Zarbon's home, which was close to Frieza's.

"Are you sure about giving me this, Master Zarbon?"

"Oh yes, don't worry. I trust you, Raditz. I know that a boy like you is clever enough to be careful with important things..I have a feeling that within a few months, under my tutelage you'll be much, much stronger and able to take on those Saibamen!"

At the station, Raditz didn't even consider what he would say to his comrades, or what they would do to him. When the thought finally came into his head, while he was on the tram home, he decided he would take a detour, to the beach he spotted last night so that he could figure out what to do next and try to forget about what happened earlier.


	5. Just Like His Father

The waves crashed on the shore, pulling in seaweed, small molluscs and crustaceans, and pushing them back out onto the shore. The coast was easy to get to. It lay just beyond the outskirts of the city and despite it being so close to civillisation, it seemed untouched by people; forgotten by society.

_'It's perfect!'_

Raditz jumped down from a grassy hill and landed on a large rock that was brushed gently by the sea foam. He took in his surroundings, comparing his observations to the coast of Planet Vegeta. The sand, for a start, was a pale peach colour, compared to the rusted reds and oranges of his home. The water too, was different. It had strong lilac undertones unlike the turquoise waters of Planet Vegeta, but it sparkled in the sunlight all the same.

He spotted a cliff overlooking the beach and a cave within it. Of course, his curiosity led him to go inside of it. The cave itself, was empty and of a decent size.

 _'I can use it as my own personal storage, yes, my own little hiding spot!'_ It would make a decent escape from the rest of the loud, troublesome world.

When he stood on the edge of the cliff he felt elated.

Like he was on top of the world. It was like that on his home planet. Once, when he was younger, his mother took him out to the coast because he was upset about how powerless he was in school and in general, quite useless.

 _"Stand up here. Just..breathe and take it all in."_ They were up on a cliff, just like the one he was on now.

 _"Shout something. Anything, Raditz."_ _"Why? No one will hear, it's stupid!"_ _"That's exactly the point. You are on top of the world here! You can do anything!"_ _"Ok..um..what should I say?"_ _"Deny what people say about you. Get rid of those negative thoughts, they'll only weigh you down."_ _"HEY WORLD! I AM NOT A WEAK, COWARDLY LOSER!"_ His mother laughed and told him to say something else.

 _"AND I'M NOT JUST A 'SMARTASS KID'!"_ To his surprise, he did feel better. From that day onwards, he would come back to the beach and yell something when he was angry or sad.

He inhaled and tried it again in his new place to escape to.

"HEY WORLD! I'M GONNA MAKE IT OUT HERE, GOT IT!? I'LL PROVE I'M GOOD ENOUGH AND I'LL NEVER GIVE UP!"

But could he really believe his own words?

It wasn't important now, he had to decide how to tell his comrades about his new master.

_'I wonder if they'll even care! They probably think I'm dead or something!'_

He pondered if he would receive chastisement or punishment from them. He couldn't deny it, he was anxious, but there was no way out of it. He had to tell them, he couldn't stay out here on the coast!

_'Ugh, what am I even scared of?!'_

Raditz had summoned up some determination and bravery, so he made his way back home, navigating himself back through the busy streets, going past the gloomy alleyways and shady businesspeople and finally coming back to the housing unit.

"Hello Raditz, it's lovely to see you again! Your friends are home, I think they've been waiting for you."

Raditz wanted to ask how she knew he was at the door before he had even knocked or rang the bell and to correct her on how she called Nappa and Vegeta his ' _friends_ ', but the only thing that he could get out of his mouth at the time was a "Thank you."

The lift was still broken, meaning Raditz's heartbeat grew faster during the suspenseful ascent up the staircases. As he was about to knock, the door flung open, hitting him.

"Oww!" He rubbed his arm and hoped to be left without a bruise.

"Didn't think you'd come back here so intact, but it seems you're quite the surprising type."

"What do you mean, Nappa?"

Vegeta as usual got his say in, "What he means, low-class, is that we expected you to be in a healing tank right now, because of your disgraceful, prideless actions!" The Prince turned away from him in disgust. Raditz came in the room whilst looking down in shame.

"So, what did happen? You pulled another trick?!" Vegeta asked, adding another remark to make his subordinate feel guiltier.

Raditz was hesitant to say anything, but the piercing glare from both Saiyans was enough to make him start talking.

"I was taken to see Lord Zarbon, since Lord Frieza is away. He said..he was impressed..he threw me a huge feast instead of punishing me!"

"What?!" Vegeta exclaimed, "If that was me.."

"Yeah! I couldn't believe it either! Next was the most shocking part.."

His comrades leaned closer.

"He wants me to be his student!"

"Absolutely not!" Nappa protested against the idea without hearing him out.

"Just listen to me! He wants to make me stronger, so I can catch up to the both of you!"

"Oh, please! Kid you know full well my training is better, I'll give you proper traditional Saiyan training sessions!"

"Well..I already agreed..and also, Master Zarbon can protect me better, and keep me out of trouble..and stop me from bothering you."

"Why would you already agree without a discussion with me?!"

Raditz thought for a moment. He felt trapped in that room with Zarbon. He was so much smaller than him and everything else around..he had to agree.

"I..don't know..he just had so much power over me! I had to say yes! It doesn't matter who trains me..what matters is I improve!"

"Fine, kid. You have fun with that pompous freaky alien genotype..but don't come running to me when it all goes wrong."

_'When it all goes wrong? What does he mean by that?!'_

Raditz slumped into the worn sofa and put the TV on so he didn't have to talk to them anymore. Nappa went to check his tablet for missions and Vegeta reluctantly sat on the sofa, as far away from Raditz as he possibly could. The Prince snatched the remote away from Raditz, who was trying to locate a channel with cartoons.

"Hey!" Raditz was fuming. Vegeta was the one who got him into today's mess, and now he was preventing him from watching TV?!

"Give it back! I wanna watch my shows!"

"A spineless, lying low-class like **you** doesn't deserve such privileges!"

Raditz knew he would not get the remote back and opted not to challenge his Prince, but to remain silent.

Vegeta put on the Main Channel which mostly showed propaganda at this time or the list of planets that have been destroyed or taken over on that day.

The lifeless reporter began to speak of the PTO's work:

"And just an hour ago, Planet Jaleb has become Frieza Planet Number 282 and Planet Malrasi has been destroyed by a meteor. We send our condolences to any remaining Malrasians."

_'I guess it's nice to know we Saiyans aren't the only ones..'_

Raditz questioned if the news reporter had been the same over his home, not so long ago. He got lost in his own thoughts again, thinking about these other planets, most of which he had never even heard of, and was slightly startled by Nappa alerting him that they had to leave for Pod Station 7 immediately.

"Why on such short notice?" Vegeta demanded an answer. "A squad cancelled, so we're being sent instead. We'll get more details from the briefing officer, once we get to the station, Prince."

And so, once again, Raditz's moment of freedom and relaxation had been cut short.

He had been on real missions with his father, but most missions were too tough for the boy to handle, and much to his disappointment, was told to handle small areas and keep guard, which could be tedious.

He had never actually killed many people..

_'Oh Gods! What if they think I'm a reject like my mother?!'_

This time, he promised himself he would get in on the action, to show he was strong and brave enough, just like his father.

The tram ride was short, or at least felt it. Raditz played with his tail, aiming to hide his nerves.

This was real. A real mission, not just practice with his father.

They walked past the Mess Hall, even though they were all rather hungry. There was no time to waste. Punctuality was of high importance in the PTO. Lateness could lead to severe consequences.

The briefing officer took a long, audible sip of coffee.

"Saiyans, huh?" The officer's foul breath could be smelt even metres away, "Didn't think there were any left. No matter. You're going to Planet Mithai, which will be Frieza Planet 287. We need you to obviously, purge the planet of all inhabitants, but please aim to leave the natural wildlife. Other buildings may be destroyed and anything that seems of value shall be brought back for the empire. If you're lucky, and able to complete this mission well and quickly, you'll receive some of the treasure you find."

"How long do we have?" Vegeta inquired.

"Lord Frieza expects you to be back in under 20 days. The journey will take 3 days there and back, since it is rather close, leaving you 2 weeks to carry out your mission."

Raditz zoned out and glanced at the Space Pods. These models were newer, he could tell. This station was far more high-tech than the ones on Planet Vegeta.

Nappa nudged the young Saiyan forward, signalling him to move, after the officer ceased his endless talking, as he walked towards a pod. Before the Saiyans could open the hatches of their pods the officer prevented them, "WAIT I JUST FORGOT!"

Vegeta sighed, "Oh, what now?!"

"These pods are new prototypes..we have had..some issues with them."

"So?" Vegeta opened the hatch, ignoring his warning.

"I've been told to tell all soldiers about protocol before they depart."

"Protocol?!" Nappa roared with laughter. "Oh come on, I've been doing this for years, it's easy to handle these pods, a bit of new-fangled machinery won't stop us! Come on, boys!"

They all got in before the officer could finish lecturing them. The man eventually gave up went back to his coffee as the pods prepared for launch.

The feel within the pod was familiar. Raditz recalled his first time in one, how he felt like a real warrior, just like his father, the excitement building up, as well as his heart rate, only to be cut short by the induced stasis sleep.

A gentle, female robot voice from the speaker gave him a quicker brief and told him to brace for launch. Launching wasn't too bad. It was landing that tended to make his stomach do backflips. He strapped himself in, relaxed his body as much as his mind would allow and prayed he'd survive, just like his mother always told him to. _'You never know, Raditz. The universe works in mysterious ways.'_ She would say.

There was nothing after the countdown. The gas rendered him unconscious.

"Mama?" He opened his eyes to find himself no longer in that cramped pod, but in his own bed, comfortable and familiar.

"Well who else would it be?" She opened the curtains.

"What?! How?" He said in puzzlement.

"..are you feeling ok? You seemed to be restless in your sleep.."

"I had an awful dream that our planet was destroyed a-and you were dead and I had to stay with the Prince and General Nappa!"

"Sounds like quite the dream..but it's ok now. You're safe here with me."

Relief washed over Raditz like one of the waves on the beach. Everything was fine again. He sniffed the air to be pleasantly surprised with the scrumptious scent of breakfast. He dashed downstairs to the dinner table and devoured his mother's cooking that was perfect as always.

He let out a burp once he had finished and his mother scolded him. "Oh, you are just like your father Raditz!" She chuckled afterwards.

The world made sense again.

Until he awoke to the robot voice.

"Malfunction! Malfunction!" Raditz snapped back into the crushing reality but he had no time to despair about how his own mind had tricked him, he needed to stop whatever was going wrong before he was killed!

An array of buttons and technology lay in front of him. He had no idea what anything did. _'Shit! We should have listened to the officer!'_

He began to panic, the frequent warning beeps ringing loudly in his ears, tail frizzing up, chest tight, breaths short and fast, knees held against his body, shutting his eyes tight, trying to run away like always-

just waiting to embrace death.

"Raditz, do you copy?!" Nappa's voice cut through the rest of the noise. "You need to press the red button on your right and then brace for an emergency landing on the nearest planet, which it should automatically go to!"

Raditz found the button and the robot voice announced, "Please brace for emergency landing on F-167!"

He could feel the heat from the front of his pod as it entered the atmosphere. The descent was steep and rough, but eventually he hit the ground, leaving a large crater. He hated getting out. The rest of his body protested but he willed himself to leave. He found his footing and located his comrades, who all had issues with their transportation.

"What kind of lousy piece of junk did they give me?! What a fine way to treat an elite prince!" Vegeta kicked his pod, causing a dent. "Ugh..it even dents easily!"

"Um where are we?" Raditz asked once Vegeta calmed down, due to Nappa's reassurance.

"Frieza Planet 167, also known as Planet Pereffi." Nappa answered. The name felt familiar to Raditz.

"We had trade deals with them since they were so close to Planet Vegeta." Now it made sense where he heard it.

"The Pereffians are bound to help us then!" Raditz's wishful thinking had given him the idea.

"And why would they do that?"

"Because they were good trading partners with our people..and they work for the PTO so..I'm pretty sure by law..they have to repair or give us new pods!"

"But they aren't warriors!"

Vegeta decided to join the situation, as always, "Yes, but their people tend to travel using pods because they search for useful planets and clean up after purges. We shall make our way into the capital and simply demand a new pod after telling them about our circumstances."

The Prince of Saiyans seemed confident in his plans and began to fly for the city. His subordinates rapidly caught up.

The heat of the Planet was very similar to Planet Vegeta, as it shared the same two suns, but apart from that, Planet Pereffi was rather different to home. The ground a pastel blue and the sky a dark pink. The people were smaller than the Saiyans and weaker, but very loyal.

In the far north, there was a strong PTO influence. More technology, training centres and, luckily for the Saiyans, pod stations, with various models. The Pereffians were shocked to see them.

One officer gleefully welcomed them, "It's lovely to see you, neighbours!" He switched into a more sombre, caring tone once he remembered the destruction of his ' _neighbours_ ' home planet. "Oh..that's right. I'm sorry for your loss. What brings you here, Saiyans?"

Vegeta stepped forward, "These new pod prototypes keep resulting in failures, we had to crash land here. We will require new pods, immediately."

The officer had gone to set everything up for them, but before the process was complete, two royal guards showed up.

"Our King would like to see you, all of you, we shall escort you to the palace!"

Raditz stepped back, these guards did seem quite strong, were the Saiyans in trouble.

"Let's go." Vegeta began to follow them.

_'If the Prince trusts them, then I should too.'_

The Palace had many flags on its tall spires, including a Frieza Force flag. They sailed proudly in the summer breeze. The guards took them to the throne room. Large stained glass windows, poured colourful sunlight into the room, the image reflecting on the blue carpet.

The King's voice echoed into the room, "Ah, the Saiyans. It's such a shame about what happened..I offer my deepest condolences, and I pray for all their souls. Prince Vegeta, you would have made a wonderful ruler. When I heard you were here I felt like I needed to give you something for your services."

A young girl walked in wearing a light silk dress with some form of a tiara, the princess, Raditz supposed. She came up to the Prince, holding a box.

"Here. Its Pereffian gold. Its very valuable..to show our gratitude."

Vegeta opened the box and gently held the gold. Raditz could see how it twinkled. _'Imagine all the food we could buy with that!'_ His mouth watered slightly imagining all of that rich food.

Vegeta put the gold back in the box and handed it back.

"Thank you kindly, but I cannot accept this gift..for my pride."

"I understand, Prince Vegeta. May the gods forever be with you all."

"Thank you King Kanub, and you Princess Liache." The Prince bowed to both royals. Raditz was confused at how respectful the Prince suddenly acted, so composed and calm. Nappa and Raditz bowed too. As the Saiyans turned to leave the King called out, "You are welcome to come here any time, and if you change your mind about the gold, it will be here."

Vegeta and the Saiyans bowed once more and left.

Raditz was completly bewildered. They had practically offered them hundreds of thousands of zeni, but Vegeta said no?!

"Prince Vegeta, we could have been rich!" Raditz had to say something. Just like his father.

"I don't need or want their pity! I can make my own money, only a prideless fool would take the easy way out like that! Oh wait..I just remembered..YOU ARE A PRIDELESS FOOL!" Vegeta made a start for Raditz but Nappa rushed in to stop him, calming the temperamental Prince down again.

They went back to the stations and left without a word, punching in the co-ordinates to Planet Mithai.

Back into cryo-sleep.

Raditz could have sworn he heard his mother again saying,

_"You'll be an amazing fighter someday, my darling…_ _Just like your father."_


	6. Sweet Things Are Bad Sometimes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was the point where my work was beginning to be beta read by RoyalBlueRoses (absolute queen) so there should be a noticeable increase in quality.  
> Enjoy!

"You have landed on Planet Mithai. Please proceed with your mission." The voice blankly stated.

The hatch opened, releasing some steam, and out emerged Raditz, who was relieved at the fact that the gravity on this planet was comfortable, unlike the training centre. The climate was almost perfect, nothing that would interfere with his job. He was pretty excited, and wasted no time in scanning the area with the scouter on his ear.

"Hold your horses, boy!" Nappa tapped him on the shoulder, in a way that the general thought was gentle, but almost toppled the long-haired child over.

"First, I'd like to check your knowledge."

Raditz didn't think Nappa was the type to really care about "knowledge'. After all, he had disregarded that officer's warnings completely.

"Now, how do we judge, or rather how does the PTO judge, whether a planet is useful or not? I hope you know this, otherwise the school you were at was pretty useless."

Raditz hesitated and thought deeply. He had recalled learning this in school..although for most of that time he had been too busy doodling or passing notes between his friends. It wasn't his fault his class was so mind-numbing he lost focus!

"Uh..resources?"

"Yeah, and what else? Remember the 3 Ls!"

That sounded incredibly familiar..

But his mind went blank again.

"Land, Location and Locals, don't you know anything!?" Vegeta, obviously fed up of waiting, similarly to Raditz, gave him the answer.

"Prince Vegeta, I was testing Raditz! You know your mother taught you manners, use them!" Nappa scolded him.

"You tested him and he failed, now can we actually do what we are meant to!? We lost time on Pereffi!" Vegeta lent against his pod giving a harsh glare to his subordinates

"Just one moment, Prince, then we'll get straight to it!" The large man turned back to Raditz.

"The 3 Ls, as Vegeta told you, are indeed land, location and locals. Land refers to the fertility and spaces on the planet that can be used. What can you tell me about it on this planet, Raditz?"

Raditz ascended from the ground and used his scouter, scanning as far as the lens could see.

"Well..the land is fertile, the cities are clustered leaving a lot of empty spaces, mostly forests or mountainous areas." He felt pleased at how clever he sounded, a slight grin creeping up on his face.

"Good. Now, how can this be useful?" The smile faded as he thought pensively.

"Hmm…this planet could be used for..farming? And..it is an attractive place..maybe tourism?"

"Location. This planet is the right distance from a PTO main centre and far away from the Galactic Patrol. Can you take locals?" Nappa signalled for Raditz to make use of his scouter

"They aren't fighters, that's for sure. Too weak to be trained up but some could be slaves I guess." Raditz concluded, folding his arms confidently.

"Well done. We'll do more of this kinda analysis later." The general turned towards his Prince to discuss something as Raditz spaced out like always.

At last.

He could finally get to the real work. Raditz's mind was filled with all the possible exciting tasks he would carry out here: demolishing a whole city in one blast like father would, searching houses for survivors, hunting any who ran away in sheer terror?!

"Kid, I need you to stay and keep guard." Nappa's order made Raditz's heart sink. His disappointment rapidly turned into fury.

"What gives?! I'm meant to be a real soldier! How am I meant to learn anything if I'm stuck guarding pods and supplies?!" Raditz expected a blow from the burly Saiyan but was met with some pretty good reasoning,

"Some of them will run this way, and hide in the forest, won't they? You'll get your chance to fight, kid, but they'll overwhelm you in numbers like these! Just stay put. If you need us, you have your scouter." Nappa patted him on the head, patronizing him like many had done in the past.

It was hard to argue with that logic. Even though Raditz knew that he was right, he still wished to be given a more active role from Nappa. Once his comrades flew off into the distance, Raditz took the time to look around. Nothing much was interesting to him. Below him was a gorge with a river flowing freely and beyond that lay the cities. The boy turned round to tall, thin trees with branches that spead far. The leaves were orange and pink and some trees beared a kind of fruit that Raditz had not seen before. One branch hung low and close enough that he could pull the ripe fruit off by just standing on the tips of his toes. An explosion from the distance, followed by terrified screaming, caught Raditz off guard and he almost dropped the fruit.

He took a bite.

The taste was similar to a mango or a papaya, but incredibly sweet, sickly almost, like the types of sweets on Planet Vegeta. The juices of the fruit dripped down his chin and on to his armour, making it slightly sticky. Raditz ate the filling fruit down to its core and out of the corner of his eye saw a sign, which had the universal language on it as well as the Mithian one.

 _'Gulab Forest, huh?'_ The sounds of obliteration around him told the boy his comrades were doing well.

_'A little exploration wouldn't hurt, right?'_

He sauntered into the forest and tried his best to keep track of where he started from, so he wouldn't be lost. Not that it would matter much anyway, he had his trusty scouter and the ability to fly.

Wandering through the forest, he noticed the ground was quite damp and the forest itself was nearly silent. He spotted very few animals or insects. _'Maybe they all ran away when we came?'_

The trees above him blocked out most of the sunlight, more so than the grey clouds, and he lost track of direction. _'Is this place..haunted or somethin'?!'_

He shook those thoughts out of his head and kept exploring. Soon, the screams and explosions faded away, taken over by the forest's slighly unnerving ambience.

"Oww!" He tripped over a stone when he wasn't paying attention to where he was going, leaving him with a grazed knee and dirty armour. Raditz imagined how his mother would scold him for not being careful, even though his mother was rather clumsy too. The boy used to come home covered in scrapes, bruises and dirt, and at first his mother would be quite angry but that would fade away as her concern took over and she would tend to his injuries.

He got back up and cleaned himself up a little. A small amount of his blood remained on the stone. Raditz went onwards, hoping to come out at the end of the forest. _'Maybe I'll find something really cool and useful! That'll show Vegeta and Nappa!'_ He laughed devilishly, making plans in his head and hurried onwards.

Whilst he was walking, he looked down at his knee, which still hurt and bled slightly, and spotted on the floor, just ahead of him, a glittering gold necklace. Upon inspection, it had jewels embedded into it and parts that dangled. Raditz concluded that it was very expensive so kept it safe in his armour. _'Imagine all the sweets I could have after selling this! Mmh..I could have bathtubs full of sherbet~!'_

If only he hadn't been so distracted, he would have noticed the coming danger behind him.

A dark, scaly beast, with claws as large as Raditz's whole body, and a heavy tail that cut down trees with a single flick, came behind the boy, who shook in fear. The red, glowing eyes seemed to make Raditz freeze in his place. He tried to move his arm to reach his scouter but to no avail. His legs too, stiff and unwilling to move.

The beast roared and Raditz's tail spiked up.

 _'Do something idiot! Don't just stand there, you'll die!'_ His mind screamed at him, yet he did nothing still.

The beast swiped his claws and Raditz was knocked into a tree. His vision went hazy and his heart thudded.

He was certain he was going to die.

As everything went blurry, some patches of his vision black, he could have sworn he saw a girl swooping in, firing arrows at the beast from behind.

Was he being saved?! He hoped so, even though it would be a knock to his already shattered pride. The beast cried out in anguish and everything faded to black.

A girl hummed a tune, within her treehouse, whilst applying medicine and bandages to Raditz's wounds.

Everything was still blurry when Raditz opened his eyes, he was disoriented and his heart pounded again.

When trying to get up again, the girl held him back and he was too weak to fight against her. The top part of his armour was removed, along with his scouter, meaning he was stuck with this girl until he could find the strength to move.

She applied a viscous substance to a bleeding gash on his arm and he winced.

"You're lucky to be alive, you know? Not many survive after an encounter with a Hokus. It's clear you aren't from around here. Sorry..I didn't tell you who I am.."

Raditz honestly did not care. He would kill this girl very soon anyway, but for the sake of politeness and gratitude allowed her to continue.

"I'm Princess Imarti. And you are?"

He was too caught up in thinking about her reaction when she knew his comrades were killing her people to react.

"Well?" She asked again, making him snap back to reality. "Oh! I'm Raditz."

"What brings you here, Raditz?"

He had a few options to pick from following that question: Lie to her, tell the truth, or kill her right there. He weighed all of them up in his head and figured it would be smarter to lie, in case she would try to kill him first.

"My ship crashed here while I was making my journey home." It sounded, to him, pretty convincing.

"But..you're a Saiyan, don't you know..your home?" Her golden eyes were full of so much sympathy, most Saiyans would vomit. The Princess told Raditz about the destruction of his home and he played along, feigning shock.

"Thank you for finding my necklace..I thought I lost it for sure!" She blurted out after a long silence.

_'At least she's polite..unlike another royal I know..'_

"Uh, no problem.."

While she continued to fix him up, he thought of how he would kill her. She didn't deserve a painful death since she had helped him, no, he would make it swift while her back is turned.

Raditz wasn't sure he could take seeing those eyes when they were filled with betrayal.

She pasted that thick substance on another wound and he was reminded of that fruit because of the colour and fragrance. He moved his arm, where she applied it before and felt very little pain. It was no longer bleeding either.

"What is that stuff?!" Raditz was left in awe.

"Oh that? It's pulp from the Gulab fruit. We use it a lot here. It makes it better, doesn't it?"

He had never seen such a thing from something as ordinary as fruit. _'Maybe that's why they sent us here and told us to leave the natural stuff!'_

"Yeah..the fruit was super tasty too!"

"Wait..you ate it?" She raised her eyebrows and looked unexpectedly concerned.

"It looked like a super yummy fruit, why wouldn't I taste it?" Raditz sat up.

"Quick! Take this!" She held a bottle of purple medicine and poured some into a spoon, spilling some. Her panic caused Raditz to follow her command.

He spluttered, "Ew! It's bitter!" The taste lingered on his tongue just like the fruit did.

"Isn't it funny..how sweet things tend to be bad for you..but bitter..bad tasting things are often good for you?" Princess Imarti put the bottle away.

Raditz lay down, feeling quite light headed now.

 _'I probably moved too fast..'_ He coughed, catching the princess' attention.

"Oh, what's wrong? Your lying, destructive ways, finally caught up with you, saiyan!?"

"W-what?" His eyes widened.

"Hmm..that ' **medicine'** should kick in..any second now.." As she inspected the bottle, Raditz saw that it was in fact, a very strong sleep serum, and began to feel incredibly drowsy. He attempted to muster up some kind of sentence, "w-what..you..gon..na..do..?"

And once again, his vision faded to black.

This time he woke in a dark, damp room, laying on what seemed to be an old wooden table. It took him a minute or two to piece together what had happened but he wished he didn't recall it. _'How can I be so gullible?! I'm such an idiot!'_

His moment of self-loathing was interrupted by a harsh slap across the face.

"OW! What the fuck was that for?!"

Princess Imarti growled and slapped him again, "Shouldn't you know, Saiyan?! You and your friends are slaughtering my people!" Even though the room had only a single candle for lighting, Raditz could clearly see her once compassionate eyes now burning with fury and hatred, like a roaring fire in a forest.

He tried to move to attack her, but was restrained by chains that he was too weak to break.

She turned her back and climbed the creaking wooden steps, taking the light of the candle along with her.

"Don't even think of escaping..as if you could ever escape the palace dungeons as powerless as you are."

Raditz couldn't think of anything to say, he just tried to wriggle out of the chains.

She chuckled, "Honestly. You should just accept your fate and feel grateful to be our sacrifice.."

The door slammed and the sound of her jewel-encrusted sandals faded away.

Raditz's mind was sent spinning, as it usually did in such situations. There was no way he was going to allow himself to be sacrificed. He needed to be clever about his escape.

His armour was taken off, leaving just his spandex and his scouter gone with it.

He tried to create ki in his hand to blast the walls or the ceiling but couldn't create enough to form his attack. Then, attempted to move all his limbs at once, to no avail.

It all felt hopeless..he couldn't do anything. It was very un-saiyanlike to give up but what more could he do?

It wasn't like his life mattered. He deserved death, he thought.

His eyes prickled and watered. The feeling of determination and wanting to live, destroyed by a feeling Raditz couldn't name.

Tears fell and rolled off of his face onto the table; he no longer cared.

The door opened after a while.

The Princess came down the stairs, with the same candle. "I didn't think Saiyans cried." She added to his despair.

"I'm not..crying.."

"Do you ever stop lying?"

His father had said that before. Multiple times actually.

"Let me live, please! I-I'll leave! I'll never come back! I'm sorry!" He pleaded.

 _"You always get so desperate, don't you? Can't take death honorably?!"_ He heard his father in his mind, and hung his head.

Princess Imarti sighed.

"Why should I believe you?"

She had a point. And he was lying again.

"Because..I am not like those other Saiyans! I haven't hurt your people..in truth..I don't really like to kill people. I do it to survive! Also..what is this sacrifice for?!"

"To summon the spirits of our gods, so they can kill you and your friends and save our people!"

A guard came up to the door, "Princess Imarti, we found another sacrifice! This one is stronger too!"

In his hands held the unconscious Prince of Saiyans.

_'What?! How did they get Vegeta?!'_

"There was some other oaf too, he's fighting against your father and his forces!"

_'He must mean Nappa..'_

The Princess examined the prince and used Raditz's scouter. "We only need the one, right?!"

"Yes my princess, now we must hurry before that beast defeats our defences!" He dropped Vegeta onto the floor.

She signalled for the guard to leave.

"Why don't you do an honorable thing for once in your life and take your prince's place!?"

Princess Imarti gathered various materials. It reminded Raditz of witches and how they made spells, but this was no time for his fantasies! He couldn't let his Prince be killed..but he wasn't in the mood to be sacrificed to the gods of these creatures.

"Have you made a decision?!" She flicked through a book, scanning its dusty pages.

"I'll be your sacrifice.."

"Very well."

He took a deep breath as she unchained him and returned his armour

_'I hope this works..'_

He stood in the centre of a circle with ancient markings drawn around it by the Princess. She lit 6 candles around him and sprinkled what seemed to be ashes on him, making him cough.

She finally turned around to look for something she had placed on the filthy stone floor.

_'Now's my chance!'_

He threw those ashes at her as she turned back around, blinding her, and sent blasts her way, knocking her to the ground.

He grabbed Vegeta and ran out of the dungeon before she could get up. Raditz slammed the steel door behind him, locking it. Outside, a battle ensued and Nappa was being overpowered.

He noticed that it had become dark outside.

_'Shit, how long was I asleep?!'_

Using his scouter he found the moon's location.

_'I can't go Oozaru now! I'll crush Vegeta!'_

He needed a way to wake him. The Princess banged on the door and Raditz legged it as far as he could with Vegeta on his shoulder.

Princess Imarti hurried after them but they had hidden within the kitchens, whilst she went past, a trail of blue blood from her head following her.

Raditz knew Vegeta would be angry but he had to pour water on him, there wasn't anything else he could think of.

"WHY YOU-" Vegeta made a start for Raditz when he woke but sensed what was happening from the battle explosions and his scouter.

"Can you control your Oozaru form?!" The Prince barked, failing to remember that Raditz had protected him. Raditz shook his head and Vegeta tsked but still told him to look at the moon but further away from the battle.

The boy escaped from the Palace gardens, rushing off into the night as the Prince transformed. He watched him for a second, marvelled at how controlled his movements were. Nappa had transformed too, and the tables began to turn.

Raditz hated using the Oozaru form, since he never remembered anything afterwards but only felt exhausted, but knew he would not survive without it.

He tilted his head up to the night sky.

All he could see was a red colour, like blood. His tail twitched, yet the rest of his body remained still.

He roared, feeling nothing but anger and bloodlust, thinking of nothing but destruction.


End file.
